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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27608879">lay your tears on me</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aelig/pseuds/Aelig'>Aelig</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Comfortember 2020 [17]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batgirl (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman and Robin (Comics), Robin: Son of Batman (Comics)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Child Abuse, Damian Wayne is Robin, Dick Grayson is Batman, Dissociation, Earth-197, Flashbacks, Fluff, Gen, Good Older Sibling Stephanie Brown, Hugs, Past Child Abuse, Plushies, Stephanie Brown &amp; Damian Wayne are Siblings, Stephanie Brown is Batgirl, Zoo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 02:07:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,025</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27608879</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aelig/pseuds/Aelig</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"She looked around to determine what would push the boy to go away before finishing his drawing; Damian had been looking forward to this new trip to the zoo with her and the opportunity to draw more wildlife than he was able to before. He had been talking non-stop about the lions yesterday at dinner, and Steph had been sure they would stay here at least one hour if it wasn't more. She even took books and Damian's console to play with and occupy herself."</p><p> </p><p>OR: Stephanie and Damian goes on a trip to Gotham's zoo. It doesn't end as expected.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dick Grayson &amp; Damian Wayne, Stephanie Brown &amp; Damian Wayne, Stephanie Brown &amp; Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown &amp; Dick Grayson &amp; Damian Wayne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Comfortember 2020 [17]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1996051</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>182</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>lay your tears on me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello everyone! I hope you're all okay!!</p><p>Today we have some good old Steph &amp; Dami bonding :fingerguns: I was in need of these two. </p><p>Once again, please mind the tags!!</p><p>Thanks so so much to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanfictiongreenirises">fanfictiongreenirises</a> for being my beta on this!! You're awesome :heart:</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>“Stephanie.”</p><p>At the mention of her name, Stephanie raised her head. Damian's voice was lacking his usual annoyance – toward herself or life in general, she was never sure. He had a scowl on his face, his arms crossed on his chest and was looking right at her.</p><p>“Let's go,” he ordered.</p><p>She looked around to determine what would push the boy to go away before finishing his drawing; Damian had been looking forward to this new trip to the zoo with her and the opportunity to draw more wildlife than he was able to before. He had been talking non-stop about the lions yesterday at dinner, and Steph had been sure they would stay here at least one hour if it wasn't more. She even took books and Damian's console to play with and occupy herself.</p><p>She soon found the cause of this rushed departure; a band of kids and their lazy parents had come around. The kids were running around, yelling and trying to get the animals to react, while the parents were chatting and not looking at them.</p><p>Stephanie grimaced. Definitely not a nice environment to draw.</p><p>“Yeah, let's go,” she approved, immediately putting away her stuff in her bag and getting up.</p><p>Damian was already ready to leave; he took her hand as soon as she was on his feet and Stephanie bit back her smile.</p><p>The first thing she and Dick had wanted to teach to Damian was about security, and the idea that he had to be by their sides at all times, especially in a crowd. It had taken them a while to get Damian used to the idea of holding their hands when going somewhere, but he was now doing it without realizing.</p><p>It was cute.</p><p>“How about we stop for smoothies and after we try to find a quieter place?”</p><p>“It's fine by me,” answered Damian easily, and they started walking.</p><p>Stephanie had the idea to bring Damian to Gotham's zoo one month ago, when the boy had been feeling down. He had loved it, and since she knew he liked to draw, she had even brought his sketchbooks with them. Damian had drawn the animals with rapt attention, and when the closing time had come, she had promised him they would go back.</p><p>Here they were, one month later; they had scheduled it weeks in advance, and Stephanie had never seen the boy more excited before. He wasn't one to like sharing his emotions that much. Dick would have joined them, but he had confided to Steph that he liked the idea of something that her and Damian could share, their own time together without anyone interfering.</p><p>Stephanie liked that, too.</p><p>Nevertheless, today wouldn't be their last trip. They had scheduled at least one every month for the next year.</p><p>Stephanie wouldn't ever have thought before that a trip to the zoo to watch over a kid drawing would be fun, but it actually was. She could stay by Damian's side, in the quiet he often liked so much, and you could learn a lot about someone while knowing their passions. Damian showed another side of himself during these times – more patient, more calm. He was smiling more, too, as his pen traced over the papers and formed, little by little, animals and plants. It was cute to watch. Plus, he sometimes would share anecdotes about the current animal they were looking at, or talk about the drawing technique he was using.</p><p>It was interesting, and more than that, it proved all the trust Damian had in her. She wanted to honor it – the kid deserved people in his corner who wouldn't let him down or betray him at every turn.</p><p>They finally arrived at the snacks zone; they quickly got a smoothie each, graciously paid by the Waynes' money – like everything else during their trips. Stephanie managed to get Damian to choose for her and her for him, just for fun – he accepted more easily that she would have thought.</p><p>He tasted his smoothie first, scrunching his nose up after the first sip.</p><p>“You like it?” Stephanie still asked with a grin.</p><p>“It's... acceptable,” answered Damian after a second, thoughtful sip. “It's orange? And... apple?”</p><p>She nodded. “There's a third one, too.”</p><p>Damian tilted his head a little, a gesture she saw Dick make all the time. “Raspberries?”</p><p>“Nice! Good work, kiddo.”</p><p>Damian smiled proudly, tutting a little. “Of course. Your turn.”</p><p>She immediately tasted her own. It had a rich savor she appreciated a lot. She grinned. “You chose well. It's delicious.” Then, going back to their game, she took a second sip. “So... Kiwi? And strawberries. I feel like there's another one...”</p><p>“There is,” confirmed the kid with a smirk.</p><p>“Banana?”</p><p>“Exactly.” Damian looked at his drink a moment. “We will need to do this again, so I can win.”</p><p>Stephanie snorted, because it was such a way for Damian to say that he had fun and wanted to play it again – it was cute. A lot of things about the kid were cute once you got to know him and understood why he acted this way, actually.</p><p>“Sure. Anytime. Now, let's go explore a little and find the perfect place!”</p><p>Damian hid his smile behind his drink but took her hand again and started walking beside her. They wandered the path of the zoo, stopping from time to time to look at an animal or another.</p><p>They were near the penguins when they heard the yells.</p><p>(Nothing good came from penguins, apparently.)</p><p>“You little- Stop crying! A man doesn't cry! I'm gonna-”</p><p>A thud followed, and Stephanie realized than a father had just slapped his child – a little boy, who was now sniffling and hiccuping, trying to hide his tears. She was about to go to them and tell him two words when she realized that the grip on her hand was tighter than before.</p><p>She immediately looked down. Damian was watching the scene, eyes a little wide, breathing short.</p><p>“Damian?” He didn't answer. He hadn't moved, actually, and Stephanie felt concern grow in her chest. She crouched before the kid, trying to get him to look at her – but his gaze was still away, too far away, months and years away.</p><p>“Shit,” she breathed softly.</p><p>It wasn't looking good.</p><p>She couldn't remember for the life of her what she was supposed to do in a case like this. She – had something like this ever happened to her before? Who helped her, how?</p><p>She needed to calm. She needed to be there for Damian; he was the top priority right now.</p><p>“Alright, Stephanie. You got this. You can do this.”</p><p>She carefully took Damian's smoothie from his hand and threw it, along with her own. Then, she made sure she had all their stuff with her before looking at the kid again.</p><p>“Alright. Damian? Damian, it's me, Stephanie. I'm going to touch your shoulder, okay?” She did so right after telling him, leaving just enough time for Damian to react and tell her now. When he didn't, she carefully placed her hand on his shoulder; the boy still didn't move. He was barely breathing, at this point. “Alright. It's good, Dami. It's going to be okay. I'm going to take you in my arms and we're going to go away, alright?” Once again, she waited for him to protest; when he showed no signs of it, she carefully lifted him up into her arms, pressing him against her.</p><p>Damian finally had a reaction; he grabbed her shirt, snuggling just a little against her so his head was in the crook of her neck. She pressed a kiss into his hair.</p><p>“You're alright. You're safe. I won't let anyone hurt you, Dami.”</p><p>She immediately walked away, trying to find a good spot for them to rest until Damian felt better; but she had nothing in view, and no idea what to do now. Maybe it would be better to head to the exit and go back home to the penthouse? Dick and Alfred would probably know better how to act.</p><p>Decision taken, Stephanie took the way to the exit, looking around anxiously and never letting go of her grip on Damian. He was clinging to her, still hiding against her, and she had no intention to change that right now. Not until Damian felt safe. Her gaze suddenly caught a name and her steps took another direction.</p><p>She had a new idea.</p><p>She entered the zoo's shop, and it didn't take her long before finding what she was looking for.</p><p>The plushies.</p><p>She went to this part of the shop, and carefully took Damian's hand in her own. “Okay, Dami, we're gonna try something. Trust me, alright?”</p><p>She led Damian's hand until it laid on one of the plushies on display. He didn't leave it there long, so Stephanie moved a little to be in front of another one, and reproduced the movement until Damian kept his hand on a plush.</p><p>It was one of an arctic fox, all white and very soft to the touch. Stephanie took it from the shelf and sped up to the store checkout.</p><p>“Hey,” she said with a sweet smile. She gave the plush to the employee.</p><p>“For your little brother, I suppose? He looked very tired.” The employee addressed her with an emphatic smile.</p><p>“Yeah. It's been a long day.” She paid quickly and took the plush, waving goodbye as she walked away.</p><p>Stephanie didn't take longer before passing the plush to Damian. He immediately hugged the plush against him, and she felt him relaxing a little in her arms. She sighed in relief.</p><p>After that, she went back to her car, buckling Damian in his booster seat and kissing his forehead. He still wasn't reacting much, but he looked a little more... here.</p><p>Stephanie never wished for a drive to pass as fast before.</p><p> </p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>Stephanie felt the moment Damian started to come back to himself. He was on her lap, carefully tucked inside a blanket, a children's show playing on the television.</p><p>He moved, blinking a little, raising his head toward her. He was obviously confused.</p><p>She smiled at him. “Hello there. You're feeling better?”</p><p>“... What happened?”</p><p>She patted his hair, and he leaned against her hand. Her smile became more fond. “I think you had a flashback. You probably dissociated, too.”</p><p>He blinked, still a little confused – she and Dick would probably have to explain more to him on the subject later. “... Oh,” he finally let out.</p><p>“It's alright,” she said, voice soothing him as best as she could. He hummed and snuggled against her, looking around them. “We're home now.”</p><p>Damian nodded quietly. Then, he took off the blanket a little, just enough to reveal the plush in his arms. He was looking at it with a confused frown.</p><p>“Oh, yeah. I bought it for you,” Stephanie casually informed him.</p><p>Damian patted it gently. “... It's soft.”</p><p>Stephanie laughed before kissing his temple, and here – he huffed, like usual when they were showering him with affection.</p><p>They didn't talk much after that, just watching the show together, Damian never moving out of her lap. They were at the second episode in a row when he talked again.</p><p>“We are still going back next month, right?”</p><p>“Of course.” She looked down at the kid, and he was so relieved. “What happened today wasn't your fault, Damian. If you still want to go to the zoo, then we will.”</p><p>He immediately relaxed into her arms, and she hugged him.</p><p>“It will not happen again,” he assured her anyway. Stephanie was about to answer him when he continued. “And if it does, I know you will keep me safe.”</p><p>She immediately closed her mouth and <em>breathed</em>. “Of course,” she managed to let out. “I will always be there for you, Damian.”</p><p>He smiled at her, for once on his own volition. It was precious, like the trust he placed on her, and the way he leaned on her and felt safe with her.</p><p>Stephanie swore to herself to always honor it.</p><p>Damian was worth it, after all.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope you all liked it!! :D</p><p>Tomorrow we have Hot Cocoa and some babies with the JL :eyes:</p><p>Take care, a lot of love for you all!! :heart:</p></blockquote></div></div>
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